This invention relates generally to an electrical connector for an integrated circuit device and will have specific application to a socket for receiving the integrated circuit chip carrier.
No explanation need be given to the importance of integrated circuits in the electronics industry. Such circuits have, over the last few years, completely revolutionized and re-oriented the field of electrical technology. Integrated circuits in their miniaturized form are made into chips. These chips are in turn normally mounted to carriers. Recently leadless chip carriers, which are of relative thin plate form having multiple leads formed upon the plate, have been utilized over other types of carrier packages such as the dual-in-line due to their compactness. Leadless chip carriers take up less space on printed circuit boards which is of importance in compact electronic circuitry design.
Such leadless chip carriers are formed of ceramic materials which have a thermal coefficient of expansion not ideally suited for the epoxy/glass material from which printed circuit boards are normally constructed. Therefore, in order to utilize leadless chip carriers, a receiving device is used to connect the carrier onto the printed circuit board. These receiving devices, or connectors, are designed to accommodate the differential in thermal expansion of the carriers and printed circuit boards. Connectors are also utilized in testing carriers with their chips prior to production usage and have been developed to accommodate such carriers for purposes of burn-in and similar testing.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,220,383; 4,130,327 and 3,942,854 are illustrative of electrical connectors for carriers having hinged hold-down devices for securing the carrier. The hold-down or clamping mechanisms by which the carriers are secured within the connectors of these patents are generally cumbersome to utilize, many times requiring two hands for loading and unloading. Additionally, in many constructions the hold-down clamp is a separable component of the connector, which further contributes to the lack of ease of its usage.